


Cradle Song

by amk_fanfic



Category: Monsta X (Band), Red Velvet (K-pop Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bar/Pub, Alternate Universe - Sports, Blood and Violence, Dark Fantasy, Explicit Language, F/M, Homophobia, Horror, M/M, Paranormal, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-13
Updated: 2018-02-13
Packaged: 2019-03-17 18:52:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,690
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13665159
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amk_fanfic/pseuds/amk_fanfic
Summary: Minhyuk goes out to a pub with his friends Hyungwon and Hoseok to celebrate Hyungwon's success and he meets a hot bartender who he really wants to get to know better. Since that day Minhyuk keeps coming back to see him. They grow really close and Minhyuk finds himself falling for him more and more but Jooheon, the bartender, seems very secretive and unwilling to commit and it drives Minhyuk crazy. Little did he know that Jooheon isn't an ordinary man. He had no idea what he was getting himself into. Jooheon has an unusual flatmate. And it sings lullabies every night.Twinkle, twinkle little starI'll smash you with a carNursery rhymes are a reoccurring theme in this story.It looks pretty. It looks innocent. Its soothing voice will sing you to sleep. But BEWARE...





	Cradle Song

**Author's Note:**

> I know that there are tons of ships in this fic and that it is confusing af so to clarify this the main otp is JooHyuk. Then ChangKI is a very side one and they will probably appear in a more "romantic" context just in one or two chapters. HyungWonho will be a very confusing one and if you're here just for them then I must warn you from the very beginning that they won't end up together anyway, sorry.
> 
> Oh, and also in this fic Wendy is not Canadian but Korean and her only name is Son Seungwan.

People always believed that Lee Minhyuk had everything. He was young, handsome and besides that, extremely successful. The 24-year-old-man was one of the best volleyball players of the last years. He was a member of the South Korean national team who had just won all of their qualifiers to the World Championships so they had many reasons to celebrate. That day Minhyuk was supposed to meet in a pub with his two best friends: Shin Hoseok and Chae Hyungwon. He had already been to his team's party the day before but he needed to celebrate with his friends properly. Hoseok was his team member and their MVP but he had known Minhyuk since primary school and later they both decided to become volleyball players. After they had graduated, they started their careers in the same club and managed to maintain their close friendship. They met Hyungwon at school as well but he was one year junior and had no interest in sports. The three of them, however, were always one of the most popular boys, so people expected them to be either friends or enemies but they chose to cooperate. In high school, they were known as the infamous lady-killer team. A year later, the younger male started a career as a model and he quickly established his name in the fashion world. He was extremely popular and he was busy with catwalk shows and filming commercials most of the time but he wanted something more. Hyungwon decided to launch his own fashion brand and his parents volunteered to help. His initial projects had sold well so the three friends had many reasons to celebrate. They decided to kill two birds with one stone and go out to party together. That Thursday night they were supposed to meet at a local pub in the city centre called Rocker's Lounge. It was quite a popular place so they chose to go there in the middle of the week to avoid the crowds of people. They wanted to have some fun so they didn't want to be recognised by some fans and being begged for autographs and photos. 

On Thursday at 8 pm Minhyuk was waiting for Hyungwon and Hoseok outside the building. They were late and the young man was getting impatient. He sighed loudly and folded his arms. If they wouldn't show up in twenty minutes, he decided to go home. That would be a pity because he really wanted to party that night but his friends might have left him no other choice. He walked up and down the street a few times when he suddenly saw someone approaching him. When they came closer Minhyuk recognised his two friends. The taller one stopped just next to him and the man glared at him. Hyungwon was wearing a weird floral patterned jacket and Minhyuk suspected that they probably were late because the model was choosing his outfit.  
"Where have you been?!" - he hissed when he saw them - "You didn't know what to wear again, am I right?" - he asked the tall brown-haired model.  
Hyungwon frowned.  
"Actually, no. I have my outfits planned for the whole next month." - he replied proudly - "This time it's not my fault." - he added and looked around to find Hoseok.  
He expected to find the shorter, muscular man behind his back but he wasn't there. Minhyuk compressed his lips and stared at the ground. He was kind of angry at them but at the same time, he knew that he shouldn't because they just wanted to have fun and it wasn't the time and place to quarrel.  
"Oh, really? So whose fault is it then? Did you forget that we were supposed to meet there at 8?" - the man glared at Hyungwon again but he had to force himself to do so because the anger was disappearing already but Minhyuk didn't want to let it off.  
"Hoseok, where are you?" - called the tall brunette - "Are you hiding? I know that you were walking behind me the whole time!" - he exclaimed and looked around frantically - "What the hell are you doing?" - he asked when he finally noticed the other volleyball player standing behind a red brick wall.  
The muscular man giggled like a little boy but after a few seconds he finally came up to them. Minhyuk stared. Something was weird about him that day.  
"So this time we were late because Hoseok decided to dye his hair just an hour before we were supposed to leave." - Hyungwon shrugged and glanced at the man with whom he had just come - "But it seems that now he's shy about his new hair. Why are you wearing this hood?" - he asked and tried to pull the hood down but Hoseok caught his hand before he even reached his head. The brunette whined because his grip was very tight. The shorter man was quite strong and it was too much for Hyungwon's thin and fragile arms.  
"Why won't you show me your new, beautiful hair colour if you had spent so much time on dyeing it?" - asked Minhyuk crossing his arms and looked at him expectantly.  
Hoseok gulped but finally, he pulled the hood down, though reluctantly.  
"I'm a bit scared of your reaction but I really wanted to try it out for a very long time." - he said timidly.  
Minhyuk stared. He wouldn't lie if he said that it shocked him a bit. His friend had bright red hair. He covered his mouth with a hand to muffle a laugh. It would take him a long time to get used to this new hair colour. Before that Hoseok never really dyed his hair but when he did, he immediately chose such a crazy colour.  
"Do you want to become one with your uniform?" - asked Minhyuk because he just couldn't help it.  
The uniforms in which they were playing when they were away, were bright red just like his hair.  
"Hey! Why are you so mean?" - exclaimed the now red-haired man and made a sad face - "I just really wanted to change something. I thought that you would say that I'm looking good."  
"Hoseok, we're are always telling you that you're looking good and enough is enough." - a sly smile appeared on Hyungwon's thick lips as he patted the shorter man's back apparently to comfort him.  
"That's right." - said Minhyuk nodding - "We know that you know that you're handsome and we don't want to spoil you." - he added and winked at Hyungwon.  
Even though they weren't looking at him they heard Hoseok whine.  
"Great. I always knew that I can count on you." - said the red-haired one in a grumpy tone.  
The brown-haired model rolled his eyes theatrically.  
"Hoseok, think. You're very popular. Your face graces hundreds of ad billboards all over the city and teenagers hang posters with your face over their beds. And besides that, how many girls did you have last week? You've always been the most popular one of as all so how can you even think that you're ugly?" - when Hyungwon finished his long talk he glanced at the shorter volleyball player and raised his eyebrow.  
"I had 0." - replied the red-haired man in a grave tone - "I'm ugly." - he whined and the two friends rolled their eyes exactly at the same time.  
Hoseok was this weird kind of person who could jump from extreme self-admiration to self-loathing in a matter of seconds and they always had to either bring him back to reality or to assure him that he's doing good.  
"No, but actually... I don't if you've noticed, Hyungwon, but we're kind of busy with the championships right now and I don't even have time to catch my breath, let alone flirt with girls." - added Hoseok in an angry tone after a long moment of an awkward silence.  
Minhyuk and Hyungwon breathed a sigh of relief. Good that he wasn't in that weird mood again.  
"Ok, stop this nonsense and let's go inside because I'm freezing here. Did we come here to have fun or not?" - he reminded them.  
Minhyuk started regretting that he chose to wear only a tank top because even though it was the middle of summer, the nights were quite cold. To his relief, his two friends quickly nodded their heads and they finally entered the building.

The new pub was cosy and had a nice atmosphere. The walls were made of raw brick and there were some holes here and there what created an artistic effect. There were also some bizarre ferns hanging from the ceiling. The three friends looked at each other in bewilderment.  
"Someone definitely had an original idea, right?" - asked Hoseok tilting his head and the two other men just shrugged.  
They decided to sit at a table at the back of the room just in case some fans showed up. The table was in a corner and it couldn't be seen from the entrance so the men hoped that they won't be bothered by anyone. On the opposite wall, there was a TV which was on and Minhyuk stared at the screen. It was some news channel and it so happened that the sports news had just started. As soon as the speaker opened his mouth he immediately said about the outstanding successes of the national volleyball team. Hoseok ducked his head in a panic because they just showed his face on the screen.  
"Oh, no... I have a bad feeling about today..." - he whispered.  
"Calm down, dude." - said Minhyuk shortly - "Look, there aren't many people and I'm sure that we'll be able to spend here some time in peace." - he gestured at the room and it was half empty indeed.  
"Minhyuk is right, chill out!" - Hyungwon glanced at the redhead worriedly - "Ok, now stay here, you two, and I'll go buy some drinks." - he offered - "What do you want?"  
"Beer." - they replied in unison what made them laugh.  
At times they felt as if they were reading each other's minds but it didn't happen very often. Hyungwon came back with the bear after a long while and he sat down looking drained. The tall brunette put the glass with his orange juice on the table so vigorously that he almost spilt it. Minhyuk and Hoseok exchanged surprised looks.  
"The girl behind the bar dropped the glass with your beer when she saw me." - he explained - "She spilt the beer all over the counter so it lasted a bit until she cleaned it up. And after that, she started to ask me about my new collection and I had to talk with her." - he added very quickly - "But at least I didn't have to pay for the beer." - he said listlessly and took a sip of his juice - "Oh, and don't drink too much. I want to still have a meaningful conversation with you so if you'll start to mumble too much I'm out."  
"All right, mum." - replied Minhyuk with a smug smile.  
Hoseok snorted and almost choked on his beer. Hyungwon never drunk but they didn't question it and just accepted his decision. They only didn't like it when he tried to boss them around. He was younger than them so he should listen to them, not the other way round.

A few tables away sat two males: one young and one middle-aged. They didn't seem to be there for fun as they whispered to each other frantically and in between them two, there was a stack of papers. There were also two cups of long forgotten, cold espresso. The waitress was giving him worried glances every five minutes as she was confused whether she should take the cups or not. The two men seemed to be way too concerned with their business to notice her.  
"Mr Yoo, I hope that you understand now how crucial it is for our paper. We're losing readers and you have to find some groundbreaking news before those other rags will steal our thunder." - said the greying man in a stern tone.  
The younger, dark-blonde man nodded his head understandingly. He seemed calm but at the same time he was clutching his hands and his legs were shaking under the table.  
"That's right, Mr Choi." - he replied.  
"And I know well that it's a sports paper but I believe that if you found out something more shocking it will attract more readers." - the man continued his talk as if he didn't hear that the blonde had said something - "So it would be better if you made an extra effort in that case. Do you understand, Mr Yoo?"  
The young man nodded slowly but at that point, he was too nervous to speak anymore. The greyish-haired man kept quiet for a while and the younger man relaxed visibly but it didn't last long because the middle-aged male opened his mouth again.  
"Oh, and I have one more important announcement for you. Tomorrow the new guy will start his internship, so please take care of him and make sure to include him in the new project." - he added in the same monotonous voice.  
Mr Yoo gulped nervously but he quickly hummed in response, giving a sign that he understood. He really wished this night to end. At that moment he started regretting the day when he started to work for that paper but three years before he would never suspect that the most famous sports paper would ever lose its popularity.

Minhyuk and Hoseok were drinking their second beer and at that point, they both were in way better moods than before. They started to talk about some memories from their high school times and they couldn't stop laughing. Hyungwon apparently zoned out because he was staring blankly at the TV screen. The other two males totally forgot about his existence until the red-haired man didn't turn his head in the model's direction.  
"Hey, Hyungwon, are you sleepy?" - he asked waving his hand before the brunette's face.  
Minhyuk snorted.  
"Hoseok, please, why are you even asking? When was the last time when he wasn't sleepy?"  
The red-haired man laughed softly at the remark.  
"Probably in his mother's womb." - he whispered to Minhyuk and they both laughed, this time louder.  
"Hey!" - exclaimed the brunette - "I heard everything!" - he said looking offended - "I was just thinking."  
"Oh, really?" - asked Minhyuk with a silly smile.  
"Stop it." - replied Hyungwon with a frown - "Actually, I was thinking about you." - he added pointing at Minhyuk and he stared - "When will you finally find a girlfriend?" - he asked out of the blue.  
The volleyball player let a long sigh and Hoseok quickly looked away. Oh, no, not this topic again.  
"Hyungwon, how many times do I have to repeat that I have no interest in girls?" - he replied with a question.  
In a matter of seconds, his good mood disappeared like a popped soap bubble and he got overwhelmed by a very bad feeling. Minhyuk had revealed his two best friends that he was gay a month before. He hoped that they will understand but Hyungwon clearly didn't.  
"But when we were in high school you used to flirt with girls." - reminded the brunette rising his eyebrow.  
It didn't seem that he wanted to surrender quickly.  
"Flirt, yes. But I never dated any of them." - agreed Minhyuk sending him a cold glare.  
He wished this conversation to stop as soon as possible. If Hyungwon couldn't understand that he just didn't want to touch upon this issue at all.  
"But anyway, you've made a good point. I actually feel quite lonely." - he added after a while looking at a wall.  
Hoseok gave him a long stare. He could almost feel as if it was burning a hole in his face.  
"Why won't you just go to a gay bar or to some other place where you can find a man for yourself?" - he asked in a surprised tone.  
Minhyuk looked down at his knees. He felt like on an interrogation. He didn't like the direction in which the conversation was going at all.  
"I-I..." - he started but he was cut by Hyungwon.  
"I'll go buy more beer!" - he exclaimed in a panicky tone and he quickly rushed in the bar's direction.  
Minhyuk frowned.  
"What the hell is wrong with him?" - he asked no one in particular and he raised his arms as a sign of helplessness - "Why is it so hard for him to accept that I'm gay?"  
Hoseok didn't reply and just compressed his lips into a very thin line. They didn't have much choice other than ignoring Hyungwon's remarks. They couldn't pressure him into accepting Minhyuk's sexuality. Besides that, the volleyball players understood that not much time had passed since he had revealed his secret and it was kind of a shock for both his friends. Hoseok was just quicker to accept that. 

Hyungwon wasn't coming back for a very long time and the two friends started wondering whether he got lost somewhere or he if he didn't just leave the building. They were getting impatient and they couldn't focus on having fun anymore. The two men exchanged glances a few times when Hoseok suddenly spoke.  
"I'll go look for him." - he proposed - "I think that he might be angry at us. I'll try to convince him to go back." - he added and left the table.  
Minhyuk sighed deeply. He wasn't happy that his friends had left him alone just like that. He squirmed awkwardly on his spot and drunk the last few gulps out of his glass. He sighed again and looked around the pub. It was 10 pm already and the room was even more empty than before. Most people have left as almost everyone has to work on Fridays. Minhyuk couldn't hide that he was bored. His friends weren't coming back for long minutes and he considered going home. Maybe they also did so without telling him. He swore them in his mind. He decided to give the glasses back to the bartender to spare the waitress the work and then leave. He picked the glasses up and started to walk in the counter's direction. As he came up closer he noticed that the girl Hyungwon was talking about was now gone and instead of her behind the counter stood a young man. A handsome young man. He had thick, brown hair which was quite messy, probably after hours of hard work in such a hot place, and cute fluffy cheeks. Minhyuk smiled slightly. Oh, yes, it was a good idea to give those glasses back. He believed that it wasn't a coincidence that he saw the man at that moment. He was totally his type. The volleyball player couldn't waste such an occasion. The young bartender might not be interested at all but a bit of flirting will not harm anyone, right? He giggled softly and walked up to the counter. Minhyuk noticed that the young man was wearing a bright red shirt and it made his fair skin look just flawless.  
"Hi, I just wanted to give those glasses back and I'm leaving." - said the volleyball player gesturing in the door's direction.  
The bartender smiled politely and cute dimples showed up on his cheeks. Minhyuk felt a bit dizzy but he tried to gather himself together and smiled back.  
"Oh, you really didn't have to do that." - said the young man and he looked around as if he was looking for something - "Seulgi, where are you?" - he asked and a girl showed up behind the counter promptly.  
She run out of some back door and Minhyuk frowned because she was bouncing like a baby gazelle.  
"What happened?" - she asked in a panicky voice - "I just went to the toilet." - he whispered to the young man but she did it so loudly that the volleyball player heard her anyway.  
"Ok, you're excused." - he whispered back to her - "But Seulgi, this gentleman just had to bring the glasses all the way here." - he added louder and gestured to Minhyuk.  
The girl's eyes widened when she saw him. The volleyball player could sense that she recognised him. It was this familiar face of a person who just saw a famous celebrity. Oh, why did they have to be so successful? If they weren't winning matches people would forget about them pretty quickly because people, in general, weren't very interested in volleyball. But it was World Championships so it was a different case. And he couldn't even dream about not being recognised. Minhyuk quickly shook his head.  
"Don't worry." - he blurted out - "I just wanted to do so. It's not a problem." - he added and winked at the young man.  
The bartender's eyes widened and he was visibly flustered. He exchanged a surprised look with the girl. She looked away and noticed that some people were gathering to leave so she run there in a panic apparently not wanting to be reprimanded again. The young man turned his head to Minhyuk again and smiled sheepishly.  
"Sorry about that." - he said in low voice - "Anyway, how can I help you?" - he quickly said his pat answer.  
"Oh, no, no. I don't need anything." - he replied shaking his head - "I was just leaving." - he added and started to walk away when he suddenly realised why he came up to the counter in the first place - "But actually..." - he started when he got back quickly.  
He gave the man a long stare. He just couldn't help it. He hadn't seen someone so attractive for quite a long time and he wanted to engrave the picture in his mind. Unconsciously he bit his lip as he was wondering how to put what he was about to say.  
"Had anyone ever told you that you have a very cute smile?" - he asked and the man froze, speechless.  
The bartender stared and it didn't seem that he was going to reply anytime soon. Minhyuk realised how cheesy it had to sound so he just smiled wryly and decided to walk away before it gets any more awkward. Suddenly, he felt a sudden surge of courage and he couldn't help to send him an air-kiss as he was leaving. He noticed that the young male got even more confused as he did so. The volleyball player chuckled at the sight of his flushed face. However, before he even had time to exit the pub he heard someone call his name. By the door, he saw Hoseok and Hyungwon.  
"Where have you been?" - asked the redhead in an unbelieving tone.  
"We thought that you left!" - added the model and both his friends nodded at the same time.  
Minhyuk took a deep breath because he felt that he was starting to get angry.  
"I could ask you the same thing." - he deadpanned - "But anyway..." - he said when he calmed down a bit - "Have you seen the bartender?"  
His two friends exchanged surprised looks.  
"No, what about him?" - asked Hoseok.  
"He's hot." - he whispered theatrically and pointed with his chin in the counter's direction.  
Hyungwon rolled his eyes as he always did and his fellow volleyball player rubbed his temples.  
"Oh, God..." - said the red-haired male under his breath.  
"I hope that you didn't harass him too much." - said the brunette reproachfully and Minhyuk sighed.  
Why he always had to be so misunderstood? They decided not to talk anymore and just leave the pub before they would start to bicker.

When the waitress, Seulgi, came back with more dirty dishes to wash, the bartender, Jooheon, quickly run up to her. He was waiting for her nervously for five long minutes. He couldn't remember the last time something as weird as this situation happened.  
"Seulgi, what the hell is going on?" - he asked her in panic and she stared at him surprised, not understanding what he meant - "Did I went crazy or did the dude who was there just moments ago try to flirt with me?" - he said in one breath.  
She put the dishes on the counter and glanced at him again.  
"I think..." - she started slowly - "I think you're not crazy." - she added cautiously - "But Jooheon, do you know who he was?" - he could hear an excitement in her voice.  
But before he even had time to reply, their boss entered the area behind the bar. They quickly turned in her direction. Their boss was a young female. Actually, she was the same age as them and they were all middle school friends. They were all close, but they knew that Son Seungwan was sometimes very scary when she was angry, so they quickly stopped talking.  
"The dishwasher broke again." - stated the dark-haired, short woman tiredly.  
Jooheon nodded understandingly and he quickly run into the backroom.

When Jooheon came back home in the morning he was so exhausted, that all he could do was drop his bag in his bedroom's door and fall flat on the bed. His hair was wet with sweat and his face was red and swollen. He really needed a shower but he didn't have the strength nor will to do so. The weather that day was really nice but all he wanted to do was to go to sleep. The sun danced on the green leaves outside the window. He really should get up and close the curtains but he was too tired. The man sighed and rubbed his eyes. Yes, he will have a long and nice nap if he'll manage to fall asleep. The bar that he worked in was usually a very busy place even if it was the middle of the working week. Maybe the last night wasn't so bad but it was quite weird indeed. There weren't many people but weirdly enough they all seemed to celebrate something, even though it wasn't any holiday. There were also three particularly loud, young men, who sat at a table in the corner. One of them, a black-haired one who had a gentle face, at one point that night went up to him apparently to give back the dirty glasses even though he didn't have to do so. Jooheon thought that it might have been a really strange dream or he was imagining things but it was actually true. The brunette tried to clumsily flirt with him. Thinking about the night's odd events made his palms even more sweaty. He hoped that the customers didn't see his flustered face as the stranger proceeded to compliment him. Jooheon banged his head on the pillow. Why the hell he was still thinking about the man?! He felt burning heat on his face and he knew that he was blushing. He got frustrated with himself. The male even sent him a kiss as he was leaving. Fucking freak. Jooheon growled. Suddenly he wasn't sleepy anymore. Thinking about the brunette made him wide awake. He started to consider taking shower once again, to make his sore muscles ache a little less but as he started getting up the room got darker in a matter of seconds. Shit.  
"Oh, no... Not you again..." - he whispered.  
He stopped feeling the heat of embarrassment he felt moments ago, he felt cold shivers instead.  
"My little darling, don't let it bother you." - he heard a sweet and childish female voice - "I am your real friend. I will always sing you to sleep. Just relax..."  
He felt as if cold fingers were running across his face.  
"He called you pretty? I knew that you are pretty years before." - he could hear a ghost of annoyance in her voice and his heart lurched - "But it doesn't matter." - she said after a while -"Just stop thinking about the night, my angel. Do you remember what I was singing to you when you were little and you were upset because children were laughing at your chubby cheeks?" - she chuckled and she started to sing.

Chubby cheeks, dimple chin  
Rosy lips, teeth within  
Curly hair, very fair  
Eyes are blue - lovely too.  
Teacher's pet, is that you?  
Yes, Yes, Yes*  
Jooheon felt his eyelids getting heavier and soon he found himself asleep.

[A/N] * Nursery rhyme - "Chubby Cheeks".


End file.
